bright
17. Ming
A thin, pale gloom seeped from the sky.
Like an egg yolk soaked in tea leaves, its dark blue base is dotted with tiny specks of gold. Now, set atop its head, it carries an ancient and eerie sense of reverence.
The rain was light, just beginning to dampen the ground, revealing its deep color.
When it falls from mid-air and hits the hard bricks and stones, does it also feel pain?
This is a black and white photo album. The first page you open to show the hardened, dried ink marks from a brush, with the words "Shuzhong Buzheng" written in a bold, weathered style.
Above the text was a black-and-white group photo with a patterned border. In the center stood a white-bearded man with his hands behind his back, a slight smile playing on his lips, seemingly oblivious to the world's vicissitudes. To his left was a man with strong eyebrows and broad shoulders, wearing a hazy blue robe that stretched all the way to his feet, its color solemn. To his right was a man whose features had faded, but one could still make out some details; he was clearly very young and handsome.
This TV series, buried in the dust, willingly fell into a void in time, wanting to fade into obscurity. But today, someone took it out again to examine it closely. Perhaps somewhat dissatisfied, it was the first to fall to the ground.
Rao Ming picked it up, wiped the dust off his face, and slowly began to look through it.
Human emotions are extremely awkward and ambiguous.
Dust swirled in the air, a solitary figure. Yet, recalling it now, it feels so vivid.
If I were to unleash my sword and sword, reaching the heavens to their utmost, and dedicate all my strength to your loyalty, what would become of me?
Rao Ming smiled, took out the photo, stroked it for a while, and then tore off a corner from the right. The photo seemed to be the long-cherished wish of the white-haired man; even a light touch produced a faint cracking sound.
He straightened his military uniform in front of the mirror, then slowly sat down in the chair in front of the table. Behind a few thin documents was a dried, firmly embedded stain.
The stain is there, and you can't wipe it off.
He took a cigarette out of the cigarette case and lit it, nestled against the flickering flame.
Pale white smoke swirled and rose.
Seven years have passed, time has changed everything, and the people on this land have been starving for too long. Can they still distinguish between good and evil?
On March 12, 1925, Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed away.
In June 1925, Rao Ming graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy.
By this time, the Qing Dynasty had collapsed, and those who attempted to restore the old system were buried deep in the past. In 1924, the Three Principles of the People were proposed. The vast land of China, with its boundless prospects, should have been teeming with vitality, and the ideals and beliefs of the revolutionaries were unstoppable, displaying their brilliance.
At this time, Rao Mingshang, who was only twenty-three years old, was a young man who had been hungry for too long, had been fantasizing for too long, and whose ideals were more important than life itself.
He devoured André Gide's *The Fruits of the Earth*.
"...Wandering, wandering, young reader, I know you have begun to feel spiritual hunger, spiritual thirst, and spiritual weariness."
You are distressed, you are dejected, and your once fervent heart, finding no solace, is about to turn into sorrow.
But you still miss it, you still wait, you miss your hometown thousands of miles away, you miss your relatives and friends thousands of miles away.
But you never imagined that what you were waiting for was exactly what was happening before your eyes. Turn back! It's no longer the time.
The times demand that you have a stronger soul.
If your digestive system isn't too weak yet, take it! This is food, food from the ground!
He vowed to serve his country to the very last moment, until the gates of hell were opened.
How can someone who seems completely unfamiliar with current affairs and politics know which approach is more beneficial?
On April 12, 1927, [name omitted] betrayed the revolution, and the Three Principles of the People were completely destroyed.
1927, the sixteenth year of the Republic of China.
When his hungry stomach was filled with rough sand and gravel, and the oath he made in broad daylight was replaced with a lie, Rao Ming's dream of being held captive was awakened by a military dance.
Amidst the dazzling lights, a series of melodies flowed, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, as the man and woman nestled together, their steps alternating between advancing and retreating.
A pleated skirt, a floral cheongsam with perfectly fitted lines, black and white gloves clasped together in the music, and a muted suit wrapped in dark gray.
With a gentle laugh, the cigar rose, its smoke glistening.
The flowers sing sweetly, paradise is here.
But pushing open the door hidden behind that heavy curtain revealed a fiery and painful underground prison.
He stood dejectedly and alone in the extended corridor. After taking a few steps around the corner, he heard a woman's voice.
Trembling with anger, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.
"Director Chen, please let me go."
Through the crack in the door, he glimpsed two bodies pressed tightly together.
One pressed forward relentlessly, while the other retreated step by step.
He recognized both of them.
One is Chen Chunsheng, the police chief, and the other...
After clearly recognizing that face, Rao Ming clenched his fists.
The woman being held in someone's arms and struggling was none other than Qin Yi'an's girlfriend, Ye Suilan.
Suddenly, the topic of Tang Wu came up, so let me tell you about this Mr. Qin Shi'an.
In August 1922, Rao Ming, who had just returned from studying in France, met Qin Shi'an, who was a year younger than him, after working at a newspaper in Minkou for two months.
Two people, bearing the same weariness and resentment of this era, looked at each other as if facing a mirror. They were surprised to find how similar the other was to themselves.
In 1924, the Whampoa Military Academy was officially established. Rao Ming, who deeply admired Dr. Sun Yat-sen, became one of the first students through the introduction of Qin Shi'an's father.
Although Qin Yi'an was a faithless person, he was willing to go to school with him.
It's like the shadow cast by a person's body in a dark corner. If the body and shadow are separate, the person is dead.
On June 16, 1924, Dr. Sun Yat-sen presided over the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy and delivered a solemn speech.
"What is our hope in opening this school today? It is to start anew from today onwards, to use the students in this school as the foundation to form a revolutionary army. You students will be the future backbone of the revolution."
With such good core members forming a revolutionary army, our revolutionary cause can succeed. Without a good revolutionary army, the Chinese revolution will always fail.
Therefore, the unique hope of establishing this military academy here today is to create a revolution and save China from its peril.
The loyalty that a person can decide is often quick and simple.
If we let our true desires lead us, we can relax completely; it will be an absolutely painless and pleasurable process.
When he saw the man he admired, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, standing on a high platform not far away, speaking passionately, Rao Ming indulged his desire for loyalty.
For the revolution, they gave everything.
After completing a year of study, he graduated with honors in June of the following year.
At this time, Mr. Yixian, whom he admired so much, had already passed away.
In the thick fog, the direction of the revolution became increasingly difficult to discern.
But if you sleep today, you don't know what tomorrow will bring.
Seeing Ye Suilan struggling, he reached out to push the door open, his eyes filled with intense anger.
A slightly cold hand pressed him down.
"Let go. Do you know who's begging for mercy inside?" He stared at Qin Yi'an.
“Rao Ming, Chen Chunsheng is the police chief. I can’t take the risk.” He spoke calmly, as if what happened here had nothing to do with him.
"What did you say?"
Faced with Qin Yi'an like this, he suddenly had a strange feeling. He grabbed Qin Yi'an by the collar and pushed him away, then took a few steps forward, looking lost and dejected. He wanted to look back, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Qin Yi'an standing still, and he stopped abruptly.
Humans may be able to never bow their heads, but they are bound to bend their backs. Once a plant's body has been bent, it will never be straight again.
When Rao Ming saw Ye Suilan again, he cried.
But he clearly heard her say, "You don't need to cry, you've done nothing wrong. As for Ya'an, I blame him, but I know he's powerless..."
She handed him a printed photo.
Rao Ming stroked the four large characters written by Qin Shi'an's father at the top, and tears welled up in his eyes.
He fell seriously ill and became emaciated.
In the early spring after his recovery, he met a group of young revolutionaries. They were the same age as him, but they had never suffered the same spiritual torment and torment he had endured.
They can ignore the burning of their bodies, because their spirits are forever full. They feel no hunger.
Rao Ming had been starving for too long, and when he first saw the lavish feast laid out before him, he almost fainted.
His eyes sparkled with excitement again, just as they had when he stood in the audience in 1924, earnestly listening to the true meaning of the revolution.
That's right, that's right, this is the food he's always been looking for, the food on the ground.
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